JPH10244431A - Production system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assemble other parts with an assembled part without carrying the assembled part by a mobile robot in a production system where operations for assembling a plurality of parts with an assembled part, are carried out by each mobile robot together with parts. SOLUTION: A plurality of part supplying parts 12a through 12h are provided along a free-flow conveyor 13, and an assembled part Pa is set in an assembling jig pallet 14 to be carried by the free-flow conveyor 13 by means of a first mobile robot 19. From now on, the first mobile robot 19 is moved through a second through a fourth work station in order so as to allow parts Pb through Pd to be assembled with the part Pa, and parts Pe through Ph are assembled with the part Pa by means of a second mobile robot 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a production system in which a mobile robot is sequentially moved to a plurality of work stations to perform work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic assembling apparatus for assembling a predetermined assembly while running a robot is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-185.
No. 332 discloses this. Referring to FIG. 8, a mobile robot 2 is provided on a rail 1 so as to be able to reciprocate between a start position on the left side and an end position on the right side. Beside the rail 1 of the mobile robot 2, component supply mechanisms 3 a to 3
c is provided.

The mobile robot 2 sequentially picks up parts from each of the component supply mechanisms 3a to 3c while moving from the start position to the end position along the rail 1, and performs an assembling jig attached to the bed of the mobile robot 2. Tool pallet 2a
Assemble the specified assembly above. Then, the mobile robot 2 stores the completed assembly in the component storage mechanism 4 provided at the end position, thereafter returns to the start position, and starts the assembly operation of the assembly again. , So as to produce the same assembly in large quantities.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional production system using the mobile robot 2, the mobile robot 2 mounts the assembly jig pallet 2a on its own carrier, and first supplies parts at the start position. Components are picked from the mechanism 3a, set on the assembly jig pallet 2a on the loading platform, and thereafter, other components are sequentially assembled to the components set on the pallet 2a.

[0005] In the mobile robot 2 having this configuration, when the size of the parts becomes large, it is not possible to place many parts on the bed, and it is not possible to expect an improvement in efficiency by mass production. That is, the upper limit of the number of components that can be mounted on the carrier of the mobile robot 2 at one time is determined by the size of the carrier, the components, and the robot body. If the parts are small and the number of assembly jig pallets 2a that can be mounted on the bed of the mobile robot 2 is large, a large number of assemblies can be completed by a single movement from the start position to the end position of the mobile robot 2. And production efficiency is increased.

However, if the assembly to be finally assembled is large, the number of assembly jig pallets 2a that can be mounted on the carrier of the mobile robot 2 is reduced, so that once the assembly jig pallet is moved from the start position to the end position. The number of assemblies that can be completed by the movement is reduced, and when assembling in a large amount, the mobile robot 2 must reciprocate between the start position and the end position many times. This means that more time is spent for the reciprocating movement of the mobile robot 2 than for the assembling work, and as a result, improvement in production efficiency is suppressed.

[0007] Further, the conventional mobile robot has a configuration in which components are mounted on a carrier and moved, and therefore, the following problems occur. First, in a production system using mobile robots, the production capacity can be easily changed by changing the number of robots used, and if the production capacity is reduced, the surplus mobile robots can change the production program by changing the operation program. There is an advantage that the system can be easily diverted. However, in the mobile robot 2 having the assembling jig pallet 2a installed on the carrier, the assembling jig pallet 2a has specifications specific to the assembly to be produced. Become.

[0008] On the other hand, since it is generally difficult for a robot to handle a soft part, an assembling operation such as fitting a rubber bush into a hole often depends on a human operation. Even in a production system using a mobile robot, a task that is difficult to perform with a robot is performed by a person.

As described above, when there is a work by a person,
In a mobile robot configured to move with a component mounted on the carrier, it is necessary to provide a space for humans to work on the mobile robot, and from the viewpoint of safety, the multiple robots mounted on the carrier of the mobile robot Until robot work is completed for all of the assembly jig pallets, humans cannot start work, and conversely, until human work is completed, mobile robots cannot start work, Wasteful.

Further, when the mobile robot breaks down, or when the mobile robot is repaired or inspected, a person works instead of the mobile robot. Must be moved manually with the device mounted thereon, which significantly reduces production efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a production system using a mobile robot without having to mount a work on the mobile robot, thereby contributing to an improvement in productivity. To provide a production system that can.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided so as to connect a plurality of work stations, and transfers a work from a work station at a preceding stage to a work station at a next stage. And a robot controller for controlling the mobile robot, wherein the robot controller is configured to move the mobile robot to a set work station among the plurality of work stations. Is moved to perform a predetermined operation, and then moved to the next set work station to execute the predetermined operation.

[0013] According to this configuration, the mobile robot repeats the operation of sequentially moving to the set work station and executing a predetermined work on the work sequentially conveyed to each work station by the conveyor device. Thereby, predetermined work is performed on the work, or another work is assembled to the work.

As described above, the workpiece is not transported mounted on the mobile robot, but transported by the conveyor device. For this reason, the mobile robot works on a plurality of works sequentially conveyed by the conveyor device while being stopped at one work station, and then is sequentially conveyed by the conveyor device at the next work station as well. Work on multiple workpieces can be completed by one move from the start position to the end position.
Production efficiency can be increased.

Further, since the mobile robot does not transport the work, it is not necessary to mount a pallet for setting the work on the carrier. Therefore, the mobile robot can be diverted to work in another production system as it is.

In addition, when a work by a person is involved, the work by the person can be performed at a station different from the station where the mobile robot works, so that the work is safe, and the work is sequentially conveyed by the conveyor device. , So that there is little waste of time.

When a person works instead of the mobile robot when the mobile robot breaks down or is repaired or inspected, the work is transported by the conveyor device.
It is not necessary for a person to carry out the work while carrying the work.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the work station on which the mobile robot moves is provided with a work supply unit for supplying a work different from the work sent by the conveyor device, The mobile robot adopts a configuration in which when moving to the work station provided with the work supply unit, the work of assembling the work of the work supply unit to the work on the conveyor device is adopted.

According to this configuration, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of transporting another workpiece to be assembled to the workpiece transported by the conveyor device by the mobile robot.

In the case where the work station provided with the work supply unit includes a work station provided with a pallet in which the work supply unit stores a plurality of the different works, , Claim 3
As in the invention described, when the mobile robot picks up the another work in the pallet and finishes assembling the work sent by the conveyor device to the work station and leaves the work station, A configuration may be adopted in which recording means for recording data indicating the storage position of the another work existing in the pallet is provided.

According to this configuration, when the mobile robot moves to the work station where the assembling work is performed, the position of the work stored in the pallet can be detected by reading the recorded contents of the recording means. Can be recognized in a short time, and the work efficiency can be improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the mobile robots are provided, and each of the mobile robots shares work at a predetermined work station among the plurality of work stations. Each of the mobile robots normally moves the assigned work station in a predetermined order, and a destination command is output from a main control unit that controls the conveyor device and the work supply unit. In such a case, a configuration may be adopted in which the work station is preferentially moved to the work station instructed by the main control means.

According to this configuration, for example, when there is an abnormality or the like in the conveyor device or the work supply unit, the main control unit outputs a destination command to the mobile robot. Then, the mobile robot moves preferentially to the commanded work station and executes a predetermined work. For this reason, the operating rate of the mobile robot increases, and the production efficiency increases.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS.
Explanation will be given based on FIG. This embodiment is applied to a production system in which a plurality of parts (work) are sequentially assembled to one part (work). 1 and 2 show a schematic configuration of the entire production system.
The assembly line is configured by installing component supply units 12 a to 12 h on one side of the conveyor device 11. The above-mentioned conveyor device 11 is constituted by a free flow conveyor 13, and conveys the assembly jig pallet 14 in the direction of arrow A from the assembly start position to the end position.

The assembly on this assembly line is performed by first setting the component Pa supplied by the component supply unit 12a at the assembly start position on the assembly jig pallet 14 on the free flow conveyor 13. A predetermined assembly is obtained by sequentially assembling the components Pb to Ph supplied by the component supply units 12b to 12h to the component Pa. The assembly jig pallet 14 includes:
A jig 15 for setting the component Pa is mounted.

Here, the assembly starting position where the operation of setting the component Pa supplied from the leading component supply unit 12a on the assembly jig pallet 14 on the free flow conveyor 13 is referred to as a first work station. Components Pb to P supplied from the subsequent component supply units 12b to 12h
The positions at which the work for assembling h to the parts Pa set on the assembly jig pallet 14 are performed are referred to as second to eighth work stations S2 to S8.

No component supply unit is provided at the assembly end position located next to the eighth work station S8. This assembly end position is at the ninth work station S
In the station S9, the inspection work by the person M is performed, and the assembly is removed from the assembly jig pallet 14 by the person M, and the assembly determined to be non-defective by the inspection is not shown next. They are transferred to the process line, and defective products are discarded.

The first to ninth work stations S1
The operations in steps S9 to S9 are performed with the assembly jig pallet 14 stopped. In order to stop the assembly jig pallet 14 at each of the work stations S1 to S9, the free flow conveyor 13 is provided with stoppers 16 as shown in FIG. When the stopper 16 rises, the assembly jig pallet 14 is stopped by being stopped by the stopper 16. The assembly jig pallet 14 stopped at each of the work stations S1 to S9 is fixed at a fixed position by a positioning mechanism (not shown).

Jig pallet 1 for assembly by positioning mechanism
When the fixing of the fixing jig 4 is released and the stopper 16 is lowered, the assembly jig pallet 14 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A to the next work station by the free flow conveyor 13 constantly driven by a motor (not shown). It has become.

The assembling jig pallet 14 conveyed by the free flow conveyor 13 to the ninth work station S9 at the assembly end position is returned to the first work station S1 at the assembly start position again. . To automatically return the assembly jig pallet 14, although not shown, the conveyor device 11 is provided with another conveyor at the lower stage of the free flow conveyor 13 and has transfer lifters 11a at both ends. Have.

Then, the upper free flow conveyor 13
The assembly jig pallet 14 conveyed to the ninth work station S9 is lowered to the lower conveyor by the transfer lifter 11a at the end, and is conveyed to the first work station S1 by the lower conveyor. The assembly jig pallet 14 conveyed to the first work station S1 by the lower conveyor is transferred to the upper free flow conveyor 13 by the transfer lifter 11a at the start end. In this way, the assembly jig pallet 14 is moved from the first work station S1 to the ninth work station S1.
9 and circulates between them.

On the other hand, among the component supply units 12a to 12h, the component supply units 12a and 12d to 12h are constituted by a pallet type component supply mechanism, and the component supply units 12b and 12c are constituted by a vibration type component supply mechanism. Here, the pallet-type component supply mechanism is, as shown in FIG.
The pallet 17 which has been emptied is a known one in which a number of parts are arranged in the pallet 7, and an empty pallet 17 is automatically exchanged for a new one by an exchanging device (not shown) provided in the pallet type parts supply mechanism. It has become. The vibration-type component supply mechanism has a well-known configuration in which a large number of stored components are arranged one by one by vibration and supplied one by one. In addition, it goes without saying that the component supply units 12a to 12h may be constituted by components other than the pallet type component supply mechanism and the vibration type component supply mechanism.

The assembly line constituted by arranging the component supply units 12a to 12h beside the conveyor device 11 as described above is controlled by a main control unit 18 mainly composed of a computer as main control means.

Each work performed in the first to eighth work stations S1 to S8 is performed by one or a plurality of, for example, two mobile robots 19 and 20 in this embodiment. This mobile robot 1
In FIGS. 9 and 20, the robot body 22 is mounted on a carrier of an automatic guided vehicle 21 having an automatic traveling device as shown in FIG. 4, and a hand 23 is detachably attached to the wrist of the robot body 22. A hand attachment / detachment mechanism 24 and a CCD camera 25 as visual recognition means are attached.

Then, on the bed of the automatic guided vehicle 21, C
A monitor 26 for displaying a captured image of the CD camera 25, an air compressor 27 for supplying compressed air to a pneumatic actuator (not shown) as a driving source for opening and closing the hand 23 mounted on the hand attaching / detaching mechanism 24, a hand attaching / detaching mechanism 24
A hand stocker 28 storing a plurality of types of hands 23 which are exchangeably mounted on the robot, a robot control device 29 as robot control means for controlling the entire mobile robots 19 and 20, and the like are attached.

The robot controller 29 controls the mobile robot 1
When each of the work stations 9 and 20 performs work in each of the work stations S1 to S8, a suitable hand is selected from the hands 23 mounted on the hand stocker 28 and mounted on the hand attaching / detaching mechanism 24. Then, the robot controller 29 recognizes the type of the hand 23 attached to the hand attaching / detaching mechanism 24, and when the next operation is an operation performed using a different type of hand 23, the robot 23 It is supposed to be replaced.

The mobile robots 19 and 20 move on the floor surface on the opposite side of the conveyor device 11 from the side where the component supply unit 12a is installed, as the traveling road surface. Then, the mobile robots 19 and 20 travel along the trajectory while being automatically steered by the guidance of the guidance means provided on the traveling road surface, and move to the target position. There are various known types of guidance means. In this embodiment, a magnetic tape 30 is laid on the traveling road surface in parallel with the conveyor device 11 and a magnetic detection device (not shown) is provided on the automatic guided vehicle 21 side. By automatically steering the magnetic tape 30 so as to correct an error between the position of the magnetic tape 30 and the position of the automatic guided vehicle 21 while detecting the magnetic tape 30 by the magnetic detection device, It is configured to travel.

The normal moving areas of the mobile robots 19 and 20 are respectively predetermined, and one of the mobile robots (hereinafter, referred to as a first mobile robot) 19 is provided with a first work station S1 and a fourth work station S1. A movement area is defined between the work station S4 and the work stations S1 to S4 in the area. Further, the other mobile robot (hereinafter, referred to as a second mobile robot) 20 includes a fifth work station S5 and an eighth work station S5.
Is a moving area, and the work at the work stations S5 to S8 in the area is shared.

In order to enable the first and second mobile robots 19 and 20 to recognize the positions of the work stations S1 to S8, magnetic surfaces for positioning corresponding to the work stations S1 to S8 are provided on the traveling road surface. Sheet and I
Identification bodies 31a to 31h composed of D tags are attached. Data indicating the respective work stations S1 to S8 is recorded on the magnetic sheet portion of the identification bodies 31a to 31h, and the first and second mobile robots 19 and 20 perform the identification of the identification bodies 31a to 31h. It is configured to stop at the set work station by reading the position data by a reading device (not shown).

By the way, an error occurs in the stop positions of the mobile robots 19 and 20 due to the detection of the identification bodies 31a to 31h. In order to detect the error and allow the robot main body 22 to pick the components Pa to Ph of the component supply units 12a to 12h and correctly assemble the components Pa set on the assembly jig pallet 14, the conveyor device 11 is used. Are provided with correction markers 32 at respective positions corresponding to the respective work stations S1 to S8.

The position correction by the marker 32 is performed as follows. That is, when the mobile robots 19 and 20 stop at the work station set by the discriminating bodies 31a to 31h, the robot main body 22 operates so as to have a fixed marker reading posture, and the CCD camera 25 performs correction in this fixed posture. The marker 32 is photographed. And
Image information of the CCD camera 25 is transmitted to an image processing device (not shown), where the image is processed. Then, the robot control device 29 compares the actual position of the correction marker 32 obtained from the image processing information with the normal position, and calculates an error of the stop position of the mobile robots 19 and 20. Based on the calculation result, the subsequent operation position of the robot body 22 is corrected.

Among the identification bodies 31a to 31h provided for displaying the positions of the work stations S1 to S8, the work stations S1, S4 to S4 in which the component supply units 12a to 12h are constituted by a pallet type component supply mechanism. S8
The mobile robots 19 and 20 assign the ID tags of the identification bodies 31a and 31d to 31h to the work stations S1 and S4.
ＳS8, it also functions as recording means for recording data indicating the storage positions of the components Pa and PdｄPh remaining in the pallet 17.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the components P are stored in the pallet 17 of the component supply units 12a, 12d to 12h composed of a pallet type component supply mechanism in a state of being arranged vertically and horizontally, and , 20 are the parts P
Are picked in a predetermined order and the assembling operation is performed. Then, when the mobile robots 19 and 20 move from the work stations S1 and S4 to S8 to another work station, the mobile robots 19 and 20 use the writing device (not shown) to write the IDs of the identification objects 31a, 31d to 31h.
Data indicating the position of the component P remaining in the pallet 17 is written in the D tag. Note that the part P shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 is a part P taken out by assembling.

When the mobile robots 19 and 20 move to the work stations S1 and S4 to S8 again, the mobile robots 19 and 20 read the data recorded on the identification bodies 31a, 31d to 31h by a reader (not shown). , The storage position of the component P in the pallet 17 can be immediately detected. Therefore, in order to detect the storage position of the component P in the pallet 17, CC
A time-consuming search operation such as taking an image of the inside of the pallet 17 with the D camera 25 is not required, and the time required for detecting the storage position of the component can be significantly reduced.

The mobile robots 19 and 20 are provided with an optical communication device 33 as communication means. In contrast to the optical communication device 33, the conveyor device 11 is also provided with an optical communication device 34 at each position corresponding to each of the work stations S1 to S8. Various kinds of information described below are transmitted and received with the device 18.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. First, the first mobile robot 19 is connected to the first work station S1.
Then, the robot body 22 is operated to pick up the component Pa stored in the pallet 17 of the component supply section 12a, and the assembly jig pallet fixed to the first work station S1 by a positioning mechanism (not shown). 14
The component Pa is set on the jig 15. When the component Pa is set on the assembly jig pallet 14, the fixing by the positioning mechanism is released, and the stopper 16 is lowered.
Thereby, the assembly jig pallet 14 is transported by the free flow conveyor 13 to the next second work station S2.

Stopper 1 of first work station S1
6 is immediately raised as soon as the assembling jig pallet 14 in which the setting of the parts Pa has been separated from the first work station S2 is transferred to the free flow conveyor 13 by the transfer lifter 11a and conveyed in the direction of arrow A. The empty assembly jig pallet 14 is stopped at the first work station S1.

Then, a positioning mechanism (not shown) operates to fix the empty assembly jig pallet 14 newly conveyed to the first work station S1 at a fixed position. Next, the first mobile robot 19 again operates the component supply unit 12a.
The operation of picking the component Pa stored in the pallet 17 and setting it on the jig 15 of the assembly jig pallet 14 is performed. Then, when the assembly jig pallet 14 on which the components Pa have been set is conveyed to the second work station S2 by the free flow conveyor 13, the first mobile robot 19 picks the components Pa again, and newly picks up the components Pa. An operation of setting the empty assembly jig pallet 14 conveyed to the first work station S1 is performed.

Thus, the first mobile robot 19
Repeats the operation of setting the component Pa on the conveyed empty assembly jig pallet a plurality of times while stopping at the first work station S1. When the parts Pa have been set on the predetermined number of assembly jig pallets 14, the first mobile robot 19 moves from the first work station S1 to the second work station S2.

Incidentally, the first mobile robot 19 is
While working at the work station S1, the stopper 16 of the second work station S2 is raised,
The assembly jig pallet 14 sequentially conveyed from the work station S1 is stopped by the stopper 16 so as not to be conveyed downstream from the second work station S2. For this reason, in the second work station S2, a plurality of assembly jig pallets 14 in which the components Pa are set in the jigs 15 are in a state of being stagnated. Are fixed at regular positions by a positioning mechanism (not shown).

When the first mobile robot 19 that has completed the work at the first work station S1 stops at the second work station S2, the robot main body 22 picks up the part Pb from the part supply unit 12b, and Assembly jig pallet 14 in which Pb is fixed by a positioning mechanism
The operation of assembling the upper part Pa is performed. When the assembly of the component Pb is completed, the positioning mechanism releases the fixing of the assembly jig pallet 14 and the stopper 16 descends. As a result, the assembly jig pallet 14 having finished assembling the component Pb is moved from the second work station S2 to the third work station S2.
To the work station S3.

Stopper 1 of second work station S2
6, when the assembling jig pallet 14 after the assembly of the parts Pb is conveyed to the third work station S3,
It rises immediately and locks the next assembly jig pallet 14. Then, a positioning mechanism (not shown) fixes the assembling jig pallet 14 at a proper position in the second work station S2. Next, the first mobile robot 19 picks up the component Pb, and assembles the component Pb to the component Pa on the assembly jig pallet 14 fixed at a proper position.

Thus, the first mobile robot 19
Are stopped at the second work station S2, and a predetermined required number of parts P of the assembly jig pallet 14 are
a, the first mobile robot 19
Moves to the third work station S3.

Thereafter, the first mobile robot 19 moves sequentially to the third work station S3 and the fourth work station S4, and the required number of assembling jigs predetermined in each of the work stations S3 and S4. An operation of assembling the components Pc and Pd with the component Pa on the pallet 14 is performed. When the work at the fourth work station S4 is completed, the first mobile robot 19 returns to the first work station S1, and performs the above-described operation again.

On the other hand, each of the fifth to eighth work stations S
In steps S5 to S8, the stopper 16 is connected to the first
To the stopper 16 of each of the fourth work stations S1 to S4
In the same manner as described above, the assembling jig pallet 14 for which operation has been completed is lowered to be conveyed to the downstream side, and then immediately rises to stop the assembling jig pallet 14 which is conveyed next from the upstream side. It has become.

When the second mobile robot 20 stops at the fifth work station S5, the robot body 22 picks up the component Pe of the component supply section 12e and is fixed at a fixed position by a positioning mechanism (not shown). The operation of assembling the component Pa on the assembly jig pallet 14 is performed. When the assembling of the component Pe is completed, the fixing of the assembling jig pallet 14 by the positioning mechanism is released, and the stopper 16 is lowered, so that the assembling jig pallet 14 in which the assembling of the component Pe is completed is free-flowed. The conveyor 13 conveys it to the sixth work station S6.

The second mobile robot 20 performs the work of assembling the parts Pe to the parts Pa at the fifth work station S5 by a predetermined number of the jig pallets 14 for assembly.
Is performed, the process moves to the next sixth work station S6, and thereafter, in the same manner as described above, the operation of assembling the components Ph to Ph to the component Pa is determined in each of the work stations S6 to S8 in advance. This is performed for the number of assembly jig pallets 14. Then, the second mobile robot 20
Completes the work at the eighth work station S8,
The second mobile robot 20 has a fifth work station S5
And the above operation is performed again.

When the assembling of the parts Ph is completed at the eighth work station S8, the pallet 14 for the assembling jig is moved to the ninth working station S8.
To the work station S9. At the ninth work station S9, the worker M inspects the assembly and carries out the work of transferring only those judged as good to the next production line. In this case, since the inspection work area by the person M is out of the operation area of the second mobile robot 20 at the eighth work station S8, the second mobile robot 20 moves the part Ph at the eighth work station S8.
Even if the assembling work is performed, the person M can safely perform the inspection work regardless of the assembling work. The assembly jig pallet 14 emptied at the ninth work station S9 is transferred to a return conveyor by the transfer lifter 11a, and returned to the first work station S1.

The general operation contents of the first and second mobile robots 19 and 20 are as described above. Here, the contents of the control will be described in more detail. Since the control contents are the same for any of the work stations S1 to S8 for the first and second mobile robots 19 and 20, the first mobile robot 19 is the first mobile robot 19 here.
The operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, on the conveyor device 11 side, when the assembling jig pallet 14 is conveyed to the first work station S1 and is stopped by the stopper 16, the main controller 18 detects this by a sensor (not shown). Then, the assembly jig pallet 14 is fixed at a fixed position by the positioning mechanism. Then, the output control device 18 controls the optical communication device 34
Sends a signal indicating that work is possible.

On the other hand, the first mobile robot 19 moves to the first work station S1 under the control of the robot controller 29, and when the reading device detects the identification object 31a indicating the first work station S1. The robot controller 29 stops the automatic traveling device. This allows
The first mobile robot 19 is connected to the first work station S1.
(Step SA).

When the first mobile robot 19 stops at the first work station S1, the robot control device 29
The assembly jig pallet 14 is moved to the first work station S1.
Is determined (step SB). At this time,
The optical communication device 33 of the first mobile robot 19 is the main control device 1
If the work enable signal has not been received from the optical communication device 34 on the 8th side, the robot control device 29 proceeds to step SB
Is "NO", and the routine goes to Step SK which will be described in detail later. If the optical communication device 33 has received the work enable signal, the robot controller 29 turns to "YES" in step SB, and proceeds to step SC for determining whether or not position correction has been completed. .

The position correction means that the error between the stop position of the first mobile robot 19 and the normal stop position is detected by the correction marker 32, and the subsequent operation position of the robot body 22 is corrected by the detection error. To tell. Here, since the first mobile robot 19 has just stopped at the first work station S1 and has not performed position correction, the robot controller 29 determines "NO" in step SC, and then performs position correction. For this purpose, the robot body 22 is operated so as to assume the above-described marker reading posture, and the CCD camera 25 operates the correction marker 3 in this fixed marker reading posture.
Shoot 2. Then, an error from the normal stop position is calculated based on the photographed image (step SD).

When the position correction is completed, the robot controller 29 determines whether or not there is a component Pa in the component supply unit 12a (step SE). The presence or absence of the component Pa is determined by moving the robot body 22 and photographing the pallet 17 of the component supply unit 12a with the CCD camera 25.

If there is a component Pa in the pallet 17 of the component supply section 12a, the robot controller 29 determines "YES" in step SE in step SE, and operates the robot main body 22 in the next step SF. The component Pa in the pallet 17 is picked up by the hand 23.

If there is no component Pa in the pallet 17 of the component supply section 12a, the robot controller 29
Becomes “NO” in step SE, and proceeds to step SG, where the optical communication device 33 sends the first work station S
A command signal indicating that the pallet 17 of the component supply unit 12a should be replaced with a new one is transmitted to one optical communication device 34.

When the optical communication device 34 receives a command signal indicating that the pallet 17 should be replaced, the main control device 18 outputs a replacement command signal to the replacement device 16 of the component supply section 12a. Accordingly, the replacement device 17 of the component supply unit 12a replaces the empty pallet 17 with a new pallet 17. Then, the robot controller 29 is controlled based on the image captured by the CCD camera 25 or the optical communication device 3 on the main controller 18 side.
When it is detected that the pallet 17 has been replaced with a new pallet 17 based on the fact that the optical communication device 33 has received the replacement completion signal transmitted from the pallet 4 (“YES” in step SH), the process proceeds to step SF and proceeds to step SF. 23 is used to pick the component Pa in the pallet 17. Note that, even if a command signal indicating that the pallet 17 should be replaced is transmitted, if the replacement is not performed, the command signal is transmitted until the replacement is performed (repetition of steps SG and SH).

As described above, the hand 23 is
Is picked up, the robot controller 29
Jig 1 on the assembly jig pallet 14
The robot body 22 is operated so as to be set to 5 (step SI). After this, the robot control device 29
The work completion signal is transmitted from the optical communication device 33 to the optical communication device 34 (step SJ). When the optical communication device 34 receives the work completion signal, the main controller 18 releases the fixing of the assembling jig pallet 14 by the positioning mechanism and lowers the stopper 16. Thereby, the assembly jig pallet 14 on which the parts Pa are set is transported to the second work station S2 by the free flow conveyor 13.

Next, the robot controller 29 determines whether or not the optical communicator 33 has received a command signal from the optical communicator 34 of the main controller 18 to move to another work station (see FIG. 4). Step SK). Now, if no such command signal is received, the robot controller 29
Determines "NO" in step SK, and then determines whether a predetermined number of operations have been performed (step S
L).

If the set number of repetitive operations is, for example, three, since the first operation has just been completed, the robot controller 29 determines "NO" in step SL and proceeds to step SB. Returning to, it is determined whether or not the assembly jig pallet 14 is present in the first work station S1, that is, whether or not the optical communication device 33 has received a work enable signal from the optical communication device 34 on the main controller 18 side. If it has been received, the process proceeds to the next step SC to determine whether or not the position has been corrected.

Here, since the position has already been corrected,
The robot control device 29 shifts to step SF where "YES" is determined in step SC and the robot main body 22 performs an operation of picking up the component Pa in the pallet 17, and the above-described control operation is repeatedly executed. . When the work is performed a predetermined number of times, the robot controller 29 turns to “YES” in step SL and shifts to step SM, and controls the first mobile robot 19 to perform another process.
That is, as set in advance, the second work station S
The automatic traveling device is operated so as to move to Step 2.

At this time, the robot control device 29 uses the writing device (not shown) to store the pallet 1 on the identification object 31a.
The data indicating the part Pa remaining in 7 is recorded. Thus, when the first mobile robot 19 moves to the first work station S1 next time, by reading the data, the position of the component Pa to be picked can be immediately recognized.

By the way, for example, it is assumed that an abnormality has occurred in the component supply unit 12a and it becomes difficult to supply the component Pa. Then, the main control device 18 receives the abnormality occurrence signal from the abnormality diagnosis device of the component supply unit 12a, and connects the optical communication device 34 to the optical communication device 33 of the first mobile robot 19 with another work station, for example, the second work station. A command signal for moving to the station S2 is transmitted.

Then, the robot controller 29 determines "YES" in step SK, and operates the automatic traveling device to move to the second work station S2 commanded by the main controller 18 (step SM). Then, predetermined work is performed at the second work station S2, and the main control device 18 moves to the third work station S3 because the assembly jig pallet 14 is not conveyed to the second work station S2. When a command to be issued is issued, an operation for moving the first mobile robot 19 to the third work station S3 is performed.

Thereafter, for example, the first work station S
When the first component supply unit 12a is repaired and returns to a normal state,
A command to move to the first work station S1 is issued from the main control device 18, whereby the first mobile robot 19 moves to the first work station S1 and transfers the component Pa a set number of times to the assembly jig pallet. Perform the work of setting to 14, and move to the first work station S2,
It returns to the normal operation mode.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the component Pa, which is the component to be assembled, is set on the assembly jig pallet 14 at the first work station S1.
a is sequentially conveyed to the second to ninth work stations S2 to S9 by the free flow conveyor 13, and the parts Pa are replaced with the parts Pa at the work stations S2 to S9.
b to Ph are sequentially assembled or a final inspection is performed.

As described above, since the component Pa is not mounted on the first and second mobile robots 19 and 20 and transported, the mobile robots 19 and 20 are stopped at one work station, Assembling other components to the component Pa sequentially transported by the free flow conveyor 13, and then moving to the next work station and assembling other components to the component Pa sequentially transported by the free flow conveyor 13. As described above, each of the mobile robots 19 and 20 can move a plurality of parts Pa by one movement from the start position to the end position in the respective movement area.
Can be assembled with various parts. Accordingly, the number of completed assemblies can be increased while minimizing the time required for the movement of the mobile robots 19 and 20, thereby improving production efficiency.

In order to increase the production capacity, a third mobile robot is used in addition to the two mobile robots 19 and 20, and the first to eighth work stations S1 to S8 are used by the three mobile robots. The work in steps S8 to S8 can be easily performed by changing the operation program of each mobile robot, and the first and second mobile robots 19 and 20 can be produced in order to reduce the production capacity. Of the first to eighth work stations S1 to S8, and the other mobile robots can be easily put into the production line by changing the operation program of each mobile robot. Can be done.

In this case, since the mobile robots 19 and 20 do not transport the parts, there is no need to attach an assembly jig pallet for setting the parts on the carrier. Therefore, the mobile robot can be immediately diverted to another production line by performing only a simple operation such as changing an operation program without performing a troublesome setup operation such as replacement of an assembling jig pallet.

The first and second mobile robots 19 and 2
In the event of a failure or repair or inspection, a person works instead of the mobile robots 19 and 20. In this case, since the parts Pa are conveyed by the free-flow conveyor 13, a person places the parts Pa on the trolley and moves the trolley manually, without assembling the parts Pa to Ph at each work station. I can do it.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
This is applied not to an assembly line but to a processing line. That is, for example, the first to fourth processing machines 35 to 38 are arranged beside one side of the free flow conveyor 13, and the positions where the respective processing machines 35 to 38 exist are the first to fourth work stations S <b> 1. To S4.

The component supply unit 39 is provided at the first work station S1, and a workpiece, that is, a workpiece (not shown) is supplied from the component supply unit 39. The first mobile robot 19 picks a material from the component supply unit 39 at the first work station S1, sets the material on the first processing machine 35, and removes the material processed by the first processing machine 35 for processing. It is set on the ingredient pallet 40.

When the first work station S1 finishes processing a predetermined number of materials, the first mobile robot 19 moves to the second work station S2, where it is set on the processing jig pallet 40. The picked-up material is picked and set on the second processing machine 36, and the material processed by the second processing machine 36 is returned to the processing jig pallet. Then, when the preset number of materials have been processed in the second work station S2, the first mobile robot 19 returns to the first work station S1 and repeats the above-described work.

The second mobile robot 20 has the third and fourth robots.
Work stations S3 and S4 are used as work areas, and in the same manner as the work performed by the first mobile robot 19 in the second work station S2, a material is picked from the processing jig pallet 40, and the third and fourth work stations are picked up. At the same time as setting on the processing machines 37 and 38, the material processed by the processing machines 37 and 38 is set on the processing jig pallet 40. As described above, even when the present invention is applied to a processing line, the same effect as that of the embodiment applied to the production line can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be expanded or changed as desired. The optical communicators 33 and 34 constitute communication means between the mobile robot 19 and the main controller 18, but may be wired.

Whether or not the assembling jig pallet 14 is fixed to each of the work stations S1 to S8 may be determined based on an image captured by the CCD camera 25. The assembly jig pallet 14 has a part Pa
May be conveyed from the previous process line in a state where is set. Not only one work station to assemble one part but also one work station to assemble a plurality of parts may be used. Parts of different models may be assembled in one work station according to the model of the parts to be assembled. At this time, the components to be picked are selected, for example, by attaching an ID tag to the assembly jig pallet 14 as an identification unit indicating the model of the component to be assembled, or by providing a model identification unit to the component to be assembled, and attaching these identification units to the mobile robot. A configuration is conceivable in which components to be assembled by being read by the reading means 19 and 20 are selected.

The completion of the work of assembling the parts Pb to Ph onto the part Pa may be confirmed by the CCD camera 25. The means for notifying the main controller 18 of the completion of the work is not limited to the optical communication devices 33 and 34, and a switch may be operated by the mobile robots 19 and 20 when the work is completed.

The mobile robots 19 and 20 may be provided with an abnormality detection device such as an overcurrent detection device so that an alarm is issued when an abnormality is detected. Mobile robot 1
The movement of the cameras 9 and 20 to another work station before the completion of the preset number of work at one work station is not limited to the operation by the command from the main controller 18 side. May be configured so that the robot control device 29 itself makes the determination based on

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing a production system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a mobile robot.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a pallet for supplying parts.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control contents.

FIG. 7 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2, showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1, showing an example of a production system using a conventional mobile robot.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawing, 11 is a conveyor device, 12a to 12h are component supply units, 13 is a free flow conveyor, 14 is an assembly jig pallet, 15 is a pallet for component supply, 18 is a main control device, and 19 and 20 are first. , A second mobile robot, 21 is an automatic guided vehicle, 22 is a robot body, 25 is a CCD camera,
29 is a robot controller, 30 is a magnetic tape, 31a-
31h is an identification body (recording means), 32 is a correction marker, 3
3, 34 are optical communication devices, 35 to 38 are processing machines, 39 is a component supply unit, 40 is a processing jig pallet, Pa to Ph are components (work), and S1 to S9 are first to ninth work stations. It is.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A conveyor device provided to connect a plurality of work stations for sequentially transferring a work from a work station at a preceding stage to a work station at a next stage, a mobile robot, and a robot controlling the mobile robot Control means, wherein the robot control means moves the mobile robot to a set work station among the plurality of work stations to execute a predetermined work, and then to a set next work station. A production system configured to repeat moving and performing a predetermined operation. 2. The work station on which the mobile robot moves is provided with a work supply unit for supplying a work different from the work sent by the conveyor device, and the mobile robot is provided with the work supply unit. 2. The production system according to claim 1, wherein when moving to the work station, the work of assembling the work of the work supply unit with the work on the conveyor device is executed. 3. 3. The work station including the work supply unit includes a work station in which the work supply unit includes a pallet storing a plurality of the different works. At the work station, when the mobile robot finishes the work of picking the another work in the pallet and assembling it to the work sent by the conveyor device and leaves the work station, the mobile robot exists in the pallet. 3. The production system according to claim 2, further comprising a recording unit for recording data indicating a storage position of another work. 4. The mobile robot is provided with a plurality of mobile robots, each of the mobile robots is configured to share a work at a predetermined work station among the plurality of work stations, and each of the mobile robots is Normally, the shared work station is moved in a predetermined order, and when a destination command is output from the main control unit that controls the conveyor device and the work supply unit, the command is issued by the main control unit. The production system according to claim 1, wherein the production system is configured to preferentially move to the work station.